Business

When presented with the first iPod prototype, Steve Jobs famously dropped it into an aquarium. The bubbles that rose to the top proved the device could be smaller; it could be better.
Since then, Jobs' lesson to Apple engineers has only become more relevant. In a world of ever accelerating change, continuous innovation is the only way companies can stay ahead.

Ryan S. Barry is Strategic Projects Coordinator in the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Office of Research and Economic Development/Office of Innovation Commercialization. Currently, he works in an advisory-like role supporting professors in finding pathways for their research - including linking with commercial partners and contributing to grant applications. He also contributes to economic development related topics. His background includes both public and private sector experience in startup to Fortune 500 settings.

It was love at first launch.
In 2016, Prisma Labs gave many consumers their first taste — or sight, rather — of artificial intelligence. By using neural networks, the eponymous photo-editing app transforms photos into breathtaking impressionist paintings.

It’s getting harder by the month to dismiss virtual reality as a fad. Just last month, The New York Times sent a second round of Google Cardboards, and this month, the International Data Corp. projected augmented and virtual reality’s worldwide revenue to hit $162 billion by 2020. For perspective, that’s more than 10 times the global record industry’s revenue last year.